book list, January 2007
Feb. 1st, 2007 07:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
edenfallingIt's time for the continuing adventures of Liz and her reading list! These are the books I read in January 2007.
New: 28
---Tea With the Black Dragon, R. A. MacAvoy (fantasy: a dragon, a woman, computers, and a criminal plot in California during the 1980s; quiet but with a good flow)
---The Uplift War, David Brin (science fiction: see my comments)
---Startide Rising, David Brin (science fiction: see my comments)
---Steady As She Goes: Women's Adventures at Sea, Barbara Sjoholm, editor (nonfiction: a collection of essays about women and boats. Varrying quality -- some are fascinating, some I would like to see extended, and some are rambling, badly-thought-out, and pointless. Also there are no essays by women in the naval forces, which is a curious gap.)
---Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates, David Cordingly (nonfiction: exactly what the title says, well written, very interesting.)
---The Pirate Wars, Peter Earle (nonfiction: history of the several ages of piracy in the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and the Caribbean, with occasional mentions of other waters; emphasis on the social structures that supported or opposed piracy, and on various naval attempts to suppress the pirates. Well written, well researched, fascinating.)
---He's Just Not That Into You: The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys, newly expanded edition, Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo (nonfiction: a dating advice book from people who worked on Sex and the City; I read it for amusement value, since I don't date. It's sad to think that there are people who need this book.)
---Psychoshop, Alfred Bester and Roger Zelazny (science fiction: weird, but in a cool way. Its approach to science is more characteristic of space opera, but since it's set mostly on Earth and mostly during the twentieth century or earlier historical periods, I hesitate to use that term. Also, the one sex scene is completely unnecessary. You should read this, though -- it's fast, snappy, and a lot of fun... even the destruction of the universe. *grin*)
---Fruits Basket, vols. 14-15, Natsuki Takaya (manga: in which we get more of the student council, backstory on Rin, and I really, really want the next volume to come out yesterday)
---X/1999, vols. 1-17, CLAMP (manga: in which the end of the world takes place in Japan, fought by groups of Japanese magicians. Gorgeous, but depressing as hell.)
---Tokyo Babylon, vol. 5, CLAMP (manga: in which Seishirou loses his eye, and you can tell things are shortly going to hell. Also, my god, the parallels between Subaru beating on the hospital door here, and Kamui's reaction when Subaru loses his eye in X/1999 could not be more obvious if CLAMP pulled out a club and beat readers over the head.)
Old: 7
---The Dispossessed, Ursula Le Guin (science fiction: in which we discuss the nature of utopia and of time. Also a story about love and family and human suffering. I first read this when I was 13 or 14, and it knocked me for a loop; I couldn't stop thinking about the book for at least a week. This one is under my skin.)
---Just So Stories, Rudyard Kipling (fiction: fables, beautifully written, albeit somewhat mired in the social attitudes of late 19th century Britain)
---Angel Sanctuary, vols. 14, 18-20, Kaori Yuki (manga: fucked up, brilliant, and very, very pretty. I wish the font the scanlations use for God's voice were a bit more readable.)
---Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, vol. 11, CLAMP (manga: still with the flying ship race; I think I have to get back to scanlations so as to catch up with the story.)
January Total: 35 books
Year to Date: 35 books (28 new, 7 old)
---------------
On the basis of this month's list, I think this year's secondary quest (the main one is to hit 365 books again, naturally!) will be nonfiction rather than great literature. It seems easier. :-)
New: 28
---Tea With the Black Dragon, R. A. MacAvoy (fantasy: a dragon, a woman, computers, and a criminal plot in California during the 1980s; quiet but with a good flow)
---The Uplift War, David Brin (science fiction: see my comments)
---Startide Rising, David Brin (science fiction: see my comments)
---Steady As She Goes: Women's Adventures at Sea, Barbara Sjoholm, editor (nonfiction: a collection of essays about women and boats. Varrying quality -- some are fascinating, some I would like to see extended, and some are rambling, badly-thought-out, and pointless. Also there are no essays by women in the naval forces, which is a curious gap.)
---Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates, David Cordingly (nonfiction: exactly what the title says, well written, very interesting.)
---The Pirate Wars, Peter Earle (nonfiction: history of the several ages of piracy in the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and the Caribbean, with occasional mentions of other waters; emphasis on the social structures that supported or opposed piracy, and on various naval attempts to suppress the pirates. Well written, well researched, fascinating.)
---He's Just Not That Into You: The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys, newly expanded edition, Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo (nonfiction: a dating advice book from people who worked on Sex and the City; I read it for amusement value, since I don't date. It's sad to think that there are people who need this book.)
---Psychoshop, Alfred Bester and Roger Zelazny (science fiction: weird, but in a cool way. Its approach to science is more characteristic of space opera, but since it's set mostly on Earth and mostly during the twentieth century or earlier historical periods, I hesitate to use that term. Also, the one sex scene is completely unnecessary. You should read this, though -- it's fast, snappy, and a lot of fun... even the destruction of the universe. *grin*)
---Fruits Basket, vols. 14-15, Natsuki Takaya (manga: in which we get more of the student council, backstory on Rin, and I really, really want the next volume to come out yesterday)
---X/1999, vols. 1-17, CLAMP (manga: in which the end of the world takes place in Japan, fought by groups of Japanese magicians. Gorgeous, but depressing as hell.)
---Tokyo Babylon, vol. 5, CLAMP (manga: in which Seishirou loses his eye, and you can tell things are shortly going to hell. Also, my god, the parallels between Subaru beating on the hospital door here, and Kamui's reaction when Subaru loses his eye in X/1999 could not be more obvious if CLAMP pulled out a club and beat readers over the head.)
Old: 7
---The Dispossessed, Ursula Le Guin (science fiction: in which we discuss the nature of utopia and of time. Also a story about love and family and human suffering. I first read this when I was 13 or 14, and it knocked me for a loop; I couldn't stop thinking about the book for at least a week. This one is under my skin.)
---Just So Stories, Rudyard Kipling (fiction: fables, beautifully written, albeit somewhat mired in the social attitudes of late 19th century Britain)
---Angel Sanctuary, vols. 14, 18-20, Kaori Yuki (manga: fucked up, brilliant, and very, very pretty. I wish the font the scanlations use for God's voice were a bit more readable.)
---Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, vol. 11, CLAMP (manga: still with the flying ship race; I think I have to get back to scanlations so as to catch up with the story.)
January Total: 35 books
Year to Date: 35 books (28 new, 7 old)
---------------
On the basis of this month's list, I think this year's secondary quest (the main one is to hit 365 books again, naturally!) will be nonfiction rather than great literature. It seems easier. :-)
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Date: 2007-02-09 07:43 am (UTC)-- Guile
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Date: 2007-02-09 06:33 pm (UTC)